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According to a new study by researchers at the Colorado School, mothers living near more intense oil and gas development activities are between 40 and 70% more likely to have children with conbad heart defects. than other people living in areas of less intense activity. public health.
"We observed that more and more children were born with conbad heart disease in areas where the activity of the oil and gas wells was most intense," said Lisa McKenzie, lead author of the Study, PhD, MPH, from the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Washington. Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
In the United States, at least 17 million people and 6% of Colorado's population live within one kilometer of an active oil and gas production site.
The study was published today in the peer-reviewed journal International environment.
The researchers studied 3,324 children born in Colorado between 2005 and 2011. They examined infants with several specific types of conbad heart disease.
The researchers estimated the intensity of the monthly activity of the oil and gas wells at the mother's residence from three months before conception to the second month of pregnancy. This intensity measure represented the development phase (drilling, well completions or production), the size of the well sites and the production volumes.
They found that mothers living in areas with the most intense oil and gas drilling activities were 40% to 70% more likely to have children with conbad heart disease. It is the most common conbad anomaly in the country and one of the leading causes of death in infants with conbad anomalies. Infants with conbad heart disease are less likely to blossom, more developmental problems and more vulnerable to brain damage.
Animal models show that CHD can occur with only one environmental exposure at the beginning of pregnancy. Some of the most common air pollutants emitted by well sites are suspected teratogens – agents that can cause birth defects – known to cross the placenta.
The study builds on a previous study that involved 124,842 births in rural Colorado between 1996-2009 and revealed that conbad heart disease was increasing with increasing density of oil and gas wells around the world. of the maternal residence. Another 476,000 birth study in Oklahoma found positive but imprecise badociations between proximity to oil and gas wells and several types of conbad heart disease.
These studies had several limitations, including the impossibility of distinguishing between the development and production phases of wells at the sites, and they did not confirm specific coronary heart disease by examining medical records. .
The limitations were addressed in this latest study. The researchers were able to confirm the place of residence of the mothers during the first months of their pregnancy, estimate the intensity of the activity of the wells and report on the presence of other sources of air pollution. Cardiac cases were also confirmed by a review of the medical record and did not include those whose genetic origin was known.
"We have observed positive badociations between the probability of birth with conbad heart disease and maternal exposure to oil and gas activities … during the second month of gestation," the researchers said. l & # 39; study.
The study data showed higher levels of conbad heart disease in oil-intensive rural areas as opposed to those in more urban areas. McKenzie said it was likely that other sources of air pollution in urban areas obscure these badociations.
It is not entirely understood how chemicals lead to coronary heart disease. Some evidence suggests that they can affect heart formation during the second month of pregnancy. This could lead to birth defects.
McKenzie said the findings suggested but did not prove a causal link between oil and gas exploration and conbad heart defects and that it was necessary to continue the research.
"This study provides further evidence of a positive badociation between maternal proximity to activities at the oil and gas wellsite and several types of conbad heart disease," she said. "Taken together, our results and the increasing expansion of oil and gas well sites underscore the importance of continuing to conduct thorough and rigorous research on the health consequences of early exposure." oil and gas activities. "
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